shortages, construction of the cathedral progressed slowly. Benedictine masons would walk daily between their Monastery in Subiaco and the construction site. In January 1864, construction was suspended because of a lack of money. Eventually further funds were raised and the building completed, for a total cost of £4,000. The cathedral was blessed and opened on 29 January 1865. Benedictine Oblate Brother Joseph Ascione designed the cathedral in the Norman Gothic style. The cathedral's walls were built from clay bricks from a property in Adelaide Terrace. Between 1897 and 1910, alterations were made to the cathedral to emphasise its Gothic character, including the addition of a spire to its bell tower. Second stage: 1930 to 1999 In 1924, Bishop Clune started an appeal to fund the construction of a larger cathedral. Architect Michael Cavanagh designed the new cathedral in the Academic Gothic style. Architect John Cyril Hawes described the proposed design as "bastard Gothic" and proposed instead a large Romanesque cathedral. His plans were rejected, with the clergy instead opting for the Gothic design. Hawes went on to design St Francis Xavier Cathedral in Geraldton. The foundation stone was laid on 25 April 1926. Deteriorating economic conditions associated with onset of the Great Depression necessitated the scaling back of the project. The original cathedral, less its sanctuary, was retained as the nave of an expanded cathedral. Exposed metal bands were left protruding from the wall of the new transept, in preparation for completion of the cathedral in future generations. The expansion work was undertaken by builders A T Brine and Sons, and it was built from stone from the same quarry as the General Post Office building. The sanctuary mosaics were made to designs found in the Book of Kells. The stained glass windows were designed and created in the United Kingdom by John Hardman of Birmingham. The marble altar from the original cathedral was relocated to the sanctuary of the expanded cathedral. The expanded, but incomplete, St Mary's Cathedral opened on 4 May 1930. In 1938 the cathedral's boys' choir was established, making it the oldest Catholic boys' choir in Australia today. In 1973, the central altar and lectern were added to the sanctuary and the redesigned sanctuary was consecrated on 12 August 1973. In 1995 the Heritage Council of Western Australia noted that the original 1865 portion of the structure was suffering from falling damp and cracking in the